30th March 2011

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The Future of Online Manga Publishing In Japan

Due to the earthquake that has caused so much destruction in Japan, Shueisha posted the March 14th issue of Weekly Shonen JUMP online for free to those who weren’t able to purchase a physical copy due to the many delays caused by the disaster. Kodansha has also announced that they would have issues from 6 of their manga magazines online. With many publishers delaying releases of manga (& also anime) because of the tragic events in Japan, will we see them fully realize the potential of paid subscriptions to online manga/issues of manga magazines as a source of revenue? 

The Internet has changed life as we know it. Shopping websites, MP3s, social media, video streaming, you name it, all are parts of our lives now. Now on the forefront, we have e-readers. The number of people reading through those devices has skyrocketed over the past couple of years. Why have Japanese publishers & readers continued to stick with print media?

Some pros of print media (for businesses) are:

Loyal readership of certain magazines attracts advertisers. Most advertisers prefer to spend money on ads in print than online.

For local businesses, it’s sometime easier to market through a local newspaper/magazine than on the Internet since it can be difficult to navigate audiences to look for the right demographic to target.

Magazines are still read even to this day & still grab people’s attention. Readership has gone up, despite the rise of news-related websites.

Some readers still prefer print media over the Internet because:

High-involvement reading. They like to re-read material very closely. The Internet doesn’t always have that option as connection to it can sometimes go down.

Ease of reading. Looking at a computer screen for an extended period of time does wear down on people.

Credibility. People would rather read something that has a long-established reputation than certain, susceptible news feeds that have multiple takes on a certain topic.

The intrusiveness of online ads. Sometimes, the placement of ads on websites can be quite bothersome. Not even a great layout can draw people in if there is a huge cluster of ads on the website.

Perhaps Japan loves print media because they like to get highly engrossed in reading. A majority of Japanese citizens love to read magazines while standing in newsstands/bookstores/etc (which has partly led to the “manga aisle hobo” phenomenon in the U.S.). Reading on the Internet doesn’t require much time. You read a few lines and that’s it. Japanese readers, for the most part, are very literate. Circulation of Japanese newspapers/magazines is still in the millions. High-involvement reading has been a huge part of Japanese society & culture for a long time.

Were Japanese manga publishers afraid to take a risk because they felt that their fabled manga would lose its worth to advertisers? Do they feel that their readers will just read it and not feel as emotionally attached as they would if they had a physical copy of a magazine? Or do they believe that they won’t be able to put as much information online as they would in a printed copy of a manga magazine? Some Japanese websites are filled with blocks of text and they seem to be fine with it. Publishers could also be lacking a sense of imagination & understanding with regards to online media. Short-term success (i.e. current advertising revenue from magazines, monetary goals that protect one’s job) is perhaps being treated as too important in Japanese society.

Shueisha & Kodansha should definitely keep track of their online issues and the reception by the Japanese audience while the country rebuilds. For manga publishers, a world filled with e-readers is now upon them. Look at what VIZ Media is doing with their manga app for the Apple iPad and also the efforts of Digital Manga Publishing & J-Comi. Though Japan looks to be serious with the future unveiling of J-Manga. The world of digital manga publishing awaits and it can be key to keeping a nation of manga readers relaxed if their favorite manga might not be able to make the shelves.

Tagged: InternetJapanShueishaWeekly Shonen JUMPmedia psychologyonline mangapsychologypublishingdigital manga initiativesmanga magazines